Off the top of my head right now, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," the novel! Mikael and Salander are my protagonist couple of choice. The plot is in some way all over the place, but their respective character arc being so subtly and deceptively simple, their journey -before and during the drama- and the story so well told, make them such an awesome pair. I definitely can't get enough of them.
What are your thoughts on the dual protagonist structure of Road to El Dorado? I always found it interesting because they start out as established friends who don’t hate each other.
I would love more videos giving examples from books instead of movies. I find myself at constant roadblocks because I keep envisioning how a scene would be written in a movie, but so much is lost in that short form context that is required in a 300 page book.
Have you read The Haunting of Brynn Wilder? It's a gothic romance I checked out last year and was surprised at how much i enjoyed it (I came in expecting it to be a straight-up ghost/haunting story)
Thanks Brandon. This is exactly what I needed to get over that writers block. Favorite dual protagonist story probably Rush Hour. And check your email. I sent an updated design. Let me know if there's any issues and I will fix them.
Definitely the video game Yakuza 0. Even though the two protagonists, Kiryu and Majima don't even meet until the post credit scene, it is very interesting to see how different events in one of the character's stories affects the other character.
I am writing dual characters for the horror screenplay and having difficulty with it. They are not main characters but do play a part in the story. I have not fully decided if one or both get offed yet. They are half wits when apart and when together a full wit. They argue, admonish and belittle each other but have a deep loyalty and always had each others back. They need each other and are successful because of this dynamic between them and the results speak for themselves. This process is their greatest strength and also eventually their weakness. In their final scene together when hunting the prized monster, one of them gets caught and mauled and is just saved in time when the other half shoots the monster. The injured monster changes his focus to deal with the shooter . The mauled guy is on the ground watching his best friend fight and get torn apart screaming for reciprocated help that doesn't come as a severed limb lands in front of him. He could have done more and reached for his gun but can't as he is frozen with fear and can only watch his friends' final moments. He then tries to save himself by playing dead. His fake death is almost betrayed by his tear for his fallen childhood friend as the monster refocuses his attention to him. This is the final scene for these characters. I am having difficulty showing that they are half wits apart and a full wit when together to get to this scene. I don't know if this will work for the screenplay but giving it a try. What would you suggest, or a book to recommend, video to watch or do the principles of the above video.," Writing Dual Protagonists" also apply to these characters?
What's critical is showing how these two operate when together and separated. If you show them alone in different scenes, show them being incompetent. Then when together in another scene, show them solving problems (which will emphasize how important is is for them to be together). I would also suggest picking which one is the "main" character of the duo. Try to get us more invested in this one. Show us how this character doubts himself when his buddy isn't around. Doubt might define these characters if they NEED to be together in order to survive.
Terrific. Thanks for making this video. In a story where the two protagonists are initially following separate narratives that later intersect or converge (such as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), is it important that their stories are hitting the same beats? I’m writing a novel in which the female MC has her inciting incident around page 50, but the male MC doesn’t have his until about page 150.
What is the format of character crossover writing ? Is it written in a paragraph text like novels or a conversation like Character A : what’s up Character B: all good! Like this ?
i decided to do a dual protagonist.the main protagonist is the exact opposite to the second protagonist causing possible conflicts between each other on disagreements.my protagonist of the story is a character who sees the world as either good or either evil,she is energetic,smooth brained and has anger problems so she always will pick a fight if something upsets her,well the second protagonist is lazy sees the world in there is no pure good or no pure evil,creative minded and takes control of a stressful situation instead of yelling and throwing fists even if he is upset.both of their motives are to protect people.i want to make that the protagonist managed to push the second protagonist to throw a fist somewhere in the story to show that they are both learning from each other to achieve that same goal.whilst the protagonist has to learn to accept everyone as people the hard way by being in the humans territory
Great vid 👌, can you elaborate more on the actual structure of two protagonists thrown together out of necessity? In particular, I have a single hardened NYC woman with a past who is put in charge of keeping a seven year old boy safe. The "Buddy" genrea applies but she has the major arc to actually care for the boy.
Not sure if you've played either The Last of Us or God of War (2018) but those are two great examples of adult/child "buddy" stories. In both games the adult starts out with a negative attitude toward the child ("I don't want to go on this journey with this person, but I have to because [goal].") Then the pairs bond through surviving conflict, and their attitudes change. There are small moments along the way where the adult figure "reaches out" to the child to show they care. By the midpoint, they are more focused on their goals. Conflict between the characters still exists, but there are also positive signs. Finally in the final act the adult character proves they care about the child character through trust/sacrifice/etc. In your case you'd want to connect the NYC woman's past to the boy in some way. Maybe she had a son she failed to support or she caused a child's death and feels irredeemable because of it. You might have her in a situation early on where she resents the boy for some reason (maybe she's simply afraid to fail the boy and feels that he's a burden because of it). Then as the story moves along, have the two bond through shared conflict. The boy helps her in some way, she respects that, she buys him something nice or encourages him, etc. Then in the second half of the story have them work better as a team as they approach a common goal. Finally have her overcome her character flaw by sacrificing something in order to help the boy. Have her overcome her greatest fear or set aside her greatest selfish desire/habit/etc. Does that make sense? Let me know if I need to elaborate more
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Yes thank you Brandon, that was very useful and helpful!! Do you have any vids on how antogonists actually work in a script? Like do they have an arc? We know we have plot points in the story structure, inciting incident, end of act 1, mid point etc. What is the antogonit's effect on these points directly and do we need to show the antogonist creating those obstacles that the Protagonists will come up against? Any of this make sense? Sorry!
@@ikeharrison1 I did a video last year on villains impacting plot points (see link below), but be warned--it was one of my earliest videos and thus it's kinda raw. ruclips.net/video/IKuZjpPVxak/видео.html If you do watch it, let me know if it helps. If you still have questions, I'll do a video to address whatever's on your mind. A video on villain arcs sounds like a good idea. I actually meant to do one on Kylo Ren and Darth Vader before Episode 9 came out, but it just never materialized... NOW'S THE TIME!!
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty hi Brandon, yes it was very helpful, really good vid! I love good villains, that thwort the protagonist some how, be it grandly by blowing up their home planet or subtly by cutting off avenues of escape, like having all airports and means of escaping the city are under surveillance. Can you expand on the means of the later? I agree a detailed vid on the antogonit's journey as well as their impact on the plot points and how they will effect them would be awesome 👍! Never seen a vid for screenwriting go in that direction in detail!! Thank you so much for your active responses. Do you have workshops you teach I could attend? Best, Eric Harrison
Expect a "Character Arcs for Villains" video on Thursday. Just recorded it last night! What did you want me to expand on? I didn't quite grasp your question ("Can you expand on the means of the later?" - I just wasn't sure what you were referring to) And I teach an annual workshop at King's College in Pennsylvania every Fall. It's nothing flashy, just me going through a 75-minute PowerPoint on plot structure or villains or another writing related topic. Most of what I teach in the workshop ends up on the channel here though, so you're not missing anything.
Perhaps an updated, more detailed video? So far it's just They have to be somewhat different and somewhat similar and grow closer. A bit more elaboration and detail, with more examples than just one buddy cop example.
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Off the top of my head right now, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," the novel! Mikael and Salander are my protagonist couple of choice. The plot is in some way all over the place, but their respective character arc being so subtly and deceptively simple, their journey -before and during the drama- and the story so well told, make them such an awesome pair. I definitely can't get enough of them.
Believe it or not, that was the first audiobook I ever listened to...back on my click-wheel iPod haha. But yeah, definitely a great dual protag story!
Writer Brandon McNulty I believe you! Just so you know, the Spanish audiobook is a joyride. If you ever learn Spanish 😱😱😱😱 give it a try.
@@d.b.cooper2677 The English one was pretty dry, but sadly I only have a beginner's knowledge of espanol. Que lastima.
What are your thoughts on the dual protagonist structure of Road to El Dorado? I always found it interesting because they start out as established friends who don’t hate each other.
Haven't seen it. I'll have to add it to my list
I would love more videos giving examples from books instead of movies. I find myself at constant roadblocks because I keep envisioning how a scene would be written in a movie, but so much is lost in that short form context that is required in a 300 page book.
This is the best writing channel. LOVE IT!
Great video! My favorite dual protagonist stories are romances.
Have you read The Haunting of Brynn Wilder? It's a gothic romance I checked out last year and was surprised at how much i enjoyed it (I came in expecting it to be a straight-up ghost/haunting story)
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty No, but I definitely will check it out.
What's your FAVORITE dual protagonist story? Let us know!
Thanks Brandon. This is exactly what I needed to get over that writers block. Favorite dual protagonist story probably Rush Hour. And check your email. I sent an updated design. Let me know if there's any issues and I will fix them.
@@TrevorDuran3390 Got em, thanks! And glad the video helped!
the protagonists of django.prob two of some of my most favorite characters as well
@@potatomanboooi3105 Django and the old man? Yeah--that's a great combo
Definitely the video game Yakuza 0. Even though the two protagonists, Kiryu and Majima don't even meet until the post credit scene, it is very interesting to see how different events in one of the character's stories affects the other character.
I am writing dual characters for the horror screenplay and having difficulty with it. They are not main characters but do play a part in the story. I have not fully decided if one or both get offed yet. They are half wits when apart and when together a full wit. They argue, admonish and belittle each other but have a deep loyalty and always had each others back. They need each other and are successful because of this dynamic between them and the results speak for themselves. This process is their greatest strength and also eventually their weakness. In their final scene together when hunting the prized monster, one of them gets caught and mauled and is just saved in time when the other half shoots the monster. The injured monster changes his focus to deal with the shooter . The mauled guy is on the ground watching his best friend fight and get torn apart screaming for reciprocated help that doesn't come as a severed limb lands in front of him. He could have done more and reached for his gun but can't as he is frozen with fear and can only watch his friends' final moments. He then tries to save himself by playing dead. His fake death is almost betrayed by his tear for his fallen childhood friend as the monster refocuses his attention to him. This is the final scene for these characters. I am having difficulty showing that they are half wits apart and a full wit when together to get to this scene. I don't know if this will work for the screenplay but giving it a try. What would you suggest, or a book to recommend, video to watch or do the principles of the above video.," Writing Dual Protagonists" also apply to these characters?
What's critical is showing how these two operate when together and separated. If you show them alone in different scenes, show them being incompetent. Then when together in another scene, show them solving problems (which will emphasize how important is is for them to be together).
I would also suggest picking which one is the "main" character of the duo. Try to get us more invested in this one. Show us how this character doubts himself when his buddy isn't around. Doubt might define these characters if they NEED to be together in order to survive.
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Thanks
@@thornmollenhoff8698 No problem! Best of luck with the writing!
Full of value, really great video. I’ve taken lots of notes! Thank you 👍
Thanks a lot man, you just helped me come up with a really cool idea for my story!
Thrilled to hear it. Best of luck with the writing!
great tips!
Thanks!
Terrific. Thanks for making this video. In a story where the two protagonists are initially following separate narratives that later intersect or converge (such as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), is it important that their stories are hitting the same beats? I’m writing a novel in which the female MC has her inciting incident around page 50, but the male MC doesn’t have his until about page 150.
What is the format of character crossover writing ? Is it written in a paragraph text like novels or a conversation like
Character A : what’s up
Character B: all good!
Like this ?
I'd say my favourite buddy movie/dual protagonist is Green Book :)
Haven't seen it, but it's on my list
i decided to do a dual protagonist.the main protagonist is the exact opposite to the second protagonist causing possible conflicts between each other on disagreements.my protagonist of the story is a character who sees the world as either good or either evil,she is energetic,smooth brained and has anger problems so she always will pick a fight if something upsets her,well the second protagonist is lazy sees the world in there is no pure good or no pure evil,creative minded and takes control of a stressful situation instead of yelling and throwing fists even if he is upset.both of their motives are to protect people.i want to make that the protagonist managed to push the second protagonist to throw a fist somewhere in the story to show that they are both learning from each other to achieve that same goal.whilst the protagonist has to learn to accept everyone as people the hard way by being in the humans territory
You got the right idea. Opposites are what make these stories fun--best of luck managing the dynamic!
Great vid 👌, can you elaborate more on the actual structure of two protagonists thrown together out of necessity? In particular, I have a single hardened NYC woman with a past who is put in charge of keeping a seven year old boy safe. The "Buddy" genrea applies but she has the major arc to actually care for the boy.
Not sure if you've played either The Last of Us or God of War (2018) but those are two great examples of adult/child "buddy" stories.
In both games the adult starts out with a negative attitude toward the child ("I don't want to go on this journey with this person, but I have to because [goal].")
Then the pairs bond through surviving conflict, and their attitudes change. There are small moments along the way where the adult figure "reaches out" to the child to show they care.
By the midpoint, they are more focused on their goals. Conflict between the characters still exists, but there are also positive signs.
Finally in the final act the adult character proves they care about the child character through trust/sacrifice/etc.
In your case you'd want to connect the NYC woman's past to the boy in some way. Maybe she had a son she failed to support or she caused a child's death and feels irredeemable because of it.
You might have her in a situation early on where she resents the boy for some reason (maybe she's simply afraid to fail the boy and feels that he's a burden because of it). Then as the story moves along, have the two bond through shared conflict. The boy helps her in some way, she respects that, she buys him something nice or encourages him, etc. Then in the second half of the story have them work better as a team as they approach a common goal. Finally have her overcome her character flaw by sacrificing something in order to help the boy. Have her overcome her greatest fear or set aside her greatest selfish desire/habit/etc.
Does that make sense? Let me know if I need to elaborate more
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Yes thank you Brandon, that was very useful and helpful!! Do you have any vids on how antogonists actually work in a script? Like do they have an arc? We know we have plot points in the story structure, inciting incident, end of act 1, mid point etc. What is the antogonit's effect on these points directly and do we need to show the antogonist creating those obstacles that the Protagonists will come up against? Any of this make sense? Sorry!
@@ikeharrison1 I did a video last year on villains impacting plot points (see link below), but be warned--it was one of my earliest videos and thus it's kinda raw.
ruclips.net/video/IKuZjpPVxak/видео.html
If you do watch it, let me know if it helps. If you still have questions, I'll do a video to address whatever's on your mind. A video on villain arcs sounds like a good idea. I actually meant to do one on Kylo Ren and Darth Vader before Episode 9 came out, but it just never materialized... NOW'S THE TIME!!
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty hi Brandon, yes it was very helpful, really good vid! I love good villains, that thwort the protagonist some how, be it grandly by blowing up their home planet or subtly by cutting off avenues of escape, like having all airports and means of escaping the city are under surveillance. Can you expand on the means of the later? I agree a detailed vid on the antogonit's journey as well as their impact on the plot points and how they will effect them would be awesome 👍! Never seen a vid for screenwriting go in that direction in detail!! Thank you so much for your active responses. Do you have workshops you teach I could attend? Best, Eric Harrison
Expect a "Character Arcs for Villains" video on Thursday. Just recorded it last night!
What did you want me to expand on? I didn't quite grasp your question ("Can you expand on the means of the later?" - I just wasn't sure what you were referring to)
And I teach an annual workshop at King's College in Pennsylvania every Fall. It's nothing flashy, just me going through a 75-minute PowerPoint on plot structure or villains or another writing related topic. Most of what I teach in the workshop ends up on the channel here though, so you're not missing anything.
Perhaps an updated, more detailed video? So far it's just They have to be somewhat different and somewhat similar and grow closer. A bit more elaboration and detail, with more examples than just one buddy cop example.
Plains, trains, and automobiles - by some definitions, not a comedy.